Recently, multiple commercial vendors have developed the capability for the production of large-scale quantities of high-quality carbon nanotube (CNT) sheets and yarns. While the materials have found use in electrical shielding applications, development of structural systems composed of a high volume fraction of carbon nanotubes is still lacking.
The use of carbon nanotube based materials for structural applications continues to be rare in spite of the unique material properties of individual carbon nanotubes. Cost, availability, and processing difficulties have limited most work to the development of low volume fraction carbon nanotube polymer composites. While even a low volume fraction of carbon nanotubes has been found to be beneficial in increasing conductivity and strength compared to the neat polymers, structural properties have yet to approach those of state-of-the-art carbon fiber based composites.